Human embryonic stem cells grown animal-free

ONE of the hurdles to using human embryonic stem cells to treat disease has been overcome. Three teams have managed to derive and grow the cells without using any animal cells that might contaminate them.

The hope is that embryonic stem cells (ESCs), the primitive cells in embryos from which all our tissues originate, can be grown into transplantable tissues for treating a multitude of disorders, from diabetes to osteoporosis. But until now it has been impossible to grow them without mouse "feeder cells" and animal-derived serum. That means all existing ESC lines, including those approved for federally funded research in the US by President Bush, could be tainted with animal diseases or substances that would trigger transplant rejection (New Scientist, 29 January, p 9).

Now, Paul De Sousa and his team at the Roslin Institute in Scotland, where Dolly the sheep was cloned, have produced what they say are ...

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